Thou Shalt Read: The King James Bible “The Ultimate Standard for Faith and Practice”

This topic made my blood boil at one point in time to be quite honest. I loathed anyone that harped on the King James Version (KJV) but spoke so boldly against the other translations such as the New Living Translation (NLT) or the New International Version (NIV) that I was so accustomed to reading. I even spent some time in The Message (MSG) translation during the early part of my salvation. Which shows proof that you don’t need a KJV bible to be saved. You don’t need a bible period to be saved. Whew, what a relief, right?

I know what you’re thinking…“Well, I read from the English Standard Version (ESV), does that mean I’m not saved?” Absolutely not! But, did you know that there are provable errors in these translations you may study from? I remember so vividly, my husband presenting facts to me and I was like a stubborn child… I wanted to plug my ears, puff up my cheeks, hum and look away. I wanted nothing more than to ignore that the KJV was the ONLY infallible and inspired Word of God. Not my NIV I had ran to for so many years. Quiet frankly, I didn’t believe my husband.

I know that sounds terrible but it was true. I remember relentlessly arguing with him about why the KJV was the only Word of truth… “no there’s so many other translations that are easier to understand, they aren’t wrong, they are saying the same thing” is what I’d constantly reiterate to him. He threw out scripture that rang true for why the KJV but I ignored it. This brought such an anger out in me. I began to question my husband on everything he preached. Oh, I was spiritually miserable to say the least.

God was using my husband to bring truth and I so easily dismissed him because I was stuck in my ways, I followed the crowd and read what I thought was easiest. Satan had me fooled. One day, he had had enough of me I could tell: Robert said “I’ve gone over this and over this, here watch these.” It was a playlist of seven short clips from Dr. Samuel Gipp on YouTube called “What’s the Big Deal About the KJV?” I almost ignored it, I was so sick to my stomach at this point I didn’t know what to believe, where I stood with the bible or who I was as a Christian.

I was confused. God knew I had to hear it from somewhere else to really understand. Not that I don’t trust my husband but when you feel like he’s the only one you know saying all this, it made it hard for me to comprehend and accept the truth of it all until you hear it from several others. Let me tell you, confusion is Satan’s biggest tactic when it comes to scripture. Satan is the ultimate creator of the new age translations. He wants us unstable and mislead. The King James Bible was translated in 1611, why would such an old document still hold true today? Satan knows how to fool you.

Don’t let him! The verse that ultimately exalts this translation and helps prove it to be the only translation is: Psalm 12:6 KJV- “The words of the LORD [are] pure words: [as] silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times” The KJV is the seventh translation for the English language. Coincidence? Can’t be! With God, nothing is a coincidence. So many people have argued, saying the “originals” are the perfect translation, not the KJV. No translation today can be perfect they say. If your final authority of God’s written Word, inspired by the Holy Spirit isn’t perfect, then you’re insinuating that God is a liar:

2 Samuel 22:31 KJV- “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.”

Proverbs 30:5-6 KJV- “5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. 6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.”

2 Timothy 3:16 KJV- “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”

He’s very clear in the verses above that His word is to be used for correction, reproof, doctrine, etc. It should not be added to or taken away from. These other translations have errors in them that fully contradict God’s Word here. If we can’t trust God’s Word to be the final authority in our lives, then we are serving a God who isn’t flawless, perfect and trustworthy. Here’s an example of an error in a translation you might use. Do you remember who killed Goliath? If you said David then you are correct.

Now go look up 2 Samuel 21:19 in the ESV. If you read it carefully you find that David didn’t kill Goliath, it was Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim. What? Well that’s not right… here’s what the KJV says. 2 Samuel 21:19 KJV- “And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.” The ESV clearly says Elhanan killed Goliath but in our tried and true KJV it says that Elhanan killed the BROTHER of Goliath. That’s a huge difference!

If you’re a true bible, believing Christian, you should have an issue with this. I’ll give you another example. Most translations, aside from the KJV, make Jesus out to be a sinner. Yes! A SINNER!! Now you should know that Jesus Christ was without sin on earth. Let me prove to you that your Bible might just have an error. Let’s go to the NIV, look up Matthew 5:22. Now there are several times in scripture where Jesus shows anger but for good reason. In your NIV it will say “anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgement…” So is our Jesus who was angry going to be harshly judged for this? Anger is a sin…

Well according to the KJV, whosoever is angry with his brother WITHOUT A CAUSE shall be in danger of the judgment. See the huge error there! Anger with a good cause is something that will not be in danger of judgment, but rather approved according to God’s Word. Matthew 5:22 KJV "But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire."

There’s so much more we can dive into to prove that the King James Version is the perfect, infallible Bible that God inspired but go do some research on your own. I’ll share a link to Dr. Samuel Gipp’s “What’s the Big Deal About the KJV?” From YouTube. There are seven short videos that will unfold it all and will make your mouth drop when you hear how your Bible may just be in error. Be open to being wrong. Exalt God’s Word, study it and make it your final authority! If God’s Word isn’t consistent, then what God are you actually serving? It can’t be the same one that claims His Word to be without error.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLml0Ndx8jBQcJNhKWeCsN5ZqszpJeQ6X7

By: A Wretched, Imperfect Pastor’s Wife Britni Potthoff

What's the Big Deal about the KJV? Dr. Sam Gipp

Rightly Dividing the 1611 with Dr. Robert Potthoff